The situation was a bit too serious for the hitmen to decide on their own, so they handed the video of Chen Gu leaving to Zhao Zhenhuai.
"Is this... the civilian version of the [Black Tortoise III Type] armored vehicle from Tao Industrial?" the aide-de-camp asked, astonished. "It's said that the selling price is as high as 3.6 million?"
The hitmen were not from the Zhao family; they were just paid to do a job. The most important thing in their business was to be discerning and not to mess with the wrong people.
One of them said from the side, "This is not an ordinary [Black Tortoise III Type]. Tao Industrial custom-made a special batch for the Confederation's Senate and did not sell it to the public. The difference from the standard model is that there's a small lightning symbol on the left side of the vehicle."
As he spoke, he reached out to pause and zoom in on the video, clearly revealing a lightning symbol!
"This lightning version of the [Black Tortoise III Type] has defense capabilities taken to the extreme; it can withstand the explosion of a nuclear bomb of ordinary yield!"
"Apart from being specially provided to the Senate, only members of the Tao family use it."
The hitman said, "Colonel, we can't handle this job. We've already refunded the money to the young master. Please find someone more capable." After saying this, the hitman immediately left, unwilling to be involved any further. The aide-de-camp was left with his eyes wide open in disbelief. An exchange student with such a profound background?!
Zhao Zhenhuai, with a sullen and sharp countenance, ordered, "Look into this Chen Gu thoroughly!"
"Yes!"
「...」
The lightning version of the [Black Tortoise III Type] arrived at the community where Chen Gu rented an apartment. As it entered the gate, a dazzling and luxurious maglev car just happened to follow behind. The short and chubby car owner was shocked at the sight of the vehicle ahead. The lightning version of the [Black Tortoise III Type]... Why would someone with such status live here?
When Chen Gu got out of the vehicle with the escort of two bodyguards, the short and chubby car owner fell silent. He stayed in his parking spot for quite some time, not getting out, afraid of embarrassing himself.
After the two bodyguards escorted Chen Gu upstairs, the short and chubby car owner sighed. Indeed, people should not be judged by their appearances. This person might be a scion of some major family trying to experience the life of an ordinary person, right? His mind quickly filled in the blanks.
This incident later turned out to be a good thing for him, as it helped him overcome his habit of judging people by their appearances.
At the door, one bodyguard said, "Young Master Chen, we will come to pick you up for school tomorrow morning. The young master-in-law has instructed that during this period, we will be following you at all times."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work," Chen Gu said politely.
Just as Chen Gu was about to enter, CLANG! The brat's parents burst through their door. Having heard Chen Gu's return, they stormed out, ready to swindle him.
They had beaten their own son seven or eight times and then tried all sorts of unreasonable tactics with the short, chubby car owner. But he was no pushover, employing a mix of underworld and legitimate methods. These kinds of parents were most afraid of those more aggressive than themselves, so they begrudgingly paid over a hundred thousand in compensation. Later, when they casually asked their son why he had drawn on someone else's car, the brat's few words gave them an idea: regardless of evidence, they would pin it on Chen Gu and make him bear the loss of over a hundred thousand!
But just as they were menacingly charging towards Chen Gu, the killing intent of the two black-clad bodyguards by his side was unleashed.
ZZZT ZZZT—
The biomimetic camouflage on the left bodyguard's nano-metal arm retracted, revealing a glistening limb wrapped in a thick layer of plasma. Just one punch would probably leave the bear-like parents seven-tenths cooked.
The bodyguard on the right removed his sunglasses, revealing a mechanical eye. It rotated and shot out a red laser, scanning back and forth over the two parents! With just a thought, its power could be increased enough to effortlessly slice the bear-like parents into sashimi.
They were powerful guards from the culinary division!
"Back off!" the two bodyguards shouted. The brat's parents went weak in the knees, and the crotches of their pants soaked instantly.
Dripping wet and trembling, they retreated and then slowly closed the door. Who are we? What are we doing? We were never here!
The two bodyguards asked, "Young Master Chen, do you want us to..." One of them made a cutting gesture.
Chen Gu smiled and waved his hand. "No need. Look at them; they definitely won't dare to trouble me again. You can go and rest."
"Alright," the two bodyguards left. One of them intentionally stood outside the brat's family's home, loudly reporting the apartment number into his phone, "Check it out immediately, assess the threat level, and if it reaches level two, eliminate it immediately!"
Inside the room, the Double Bear parents started to tremble again. Chen Gu was secretly amused and quite certain that his English grammar was flawless!
Chen Gu entered his apartment and soon received a message: the 'Endless' gaming pod he ordered had arrived. The message asked if he would like it delivered immediately, to which Chen Gu confirmed.
In less than ten minutes, a delivery robot brought the gaming pod inside.
This commercially available gaming pod was different from the ones provided to schools. Those were supplied in large quantities, were cheap but very simple, with many value-added features stripped away.
The one Chen Gu bought was priced at 37,000 Starshield and had an aesthetic filled with a sense of technology. It also had many "lazy features," such as a nutrient solution life support system that could sustain continuous hardcore gaming sessions.
Since he had the money, Chen Gu decided to keep a low profile but also didn't plan to shortchange himself.
Chen Gu purchased this gaming pod because he had learned from the memories of Milna Katerina and Griffin Wester that all Professionals constantly faced the threat of the Endless Realm.
It was a mysterious space, and it was said that humanity had not yet been able to locate the physical position of the Endless Realm.
It was filled with various demonic forms, Evil Gods, and so on, constantly tempting the living beings of the real world. Once they fell, they would become accomplices in the real world.
Such people were referred to by Professionals as "Metamorphs" and possessed abilities no less than those of Professionals; they were insane and dangerous.
And whenever Professionals advanced, they would inevitably need to confront the Endless Realm for unknown reasons—and this game, ironically called 'Endless,' raised Chen Gu's suspicions.
He had a dinner that was mediocre in taste but full of nutrients, and then he entered the gaming pod.
BEEP—
Game activated.
In front of Chen Gu, a series of blue, lightning-like text flashed:
Honor Player [Idol Actor], welcome to 'Endless'.
Chen Gu was startled. It turned out that after the last training exercise, the officials of the 'Endless' game had actually given him the title of "Honor Player."
Now, Chen Gu [Idol Actor]'s name turned golden, surrounded by effects that looked like a dissipating mist of light.
He smacked his lips. "Hmm, seems pretty good."
A small megaphone icon in the bottom left corner was frantically jumping and flashing. Chen Gu casually opened it, and WHOOSH—millions of "friend requests" burst out, completely submerging him.
As a particularly popular man, loneliness is just this plain and unadorned. Chen Gu rejected them all with one click. "Off you go!"
「...」
In an office within the Central Operations Room of the Confederation, Bai Xianya was browsing through a report.
But the more she read, the more it made her grind her teeth in frustration.
The battle reports came from nine armies, compiled by low-level staff of the Central Operations Room. These nine had been selected by Bai Yunpeng to experiment with the "Pillar Falling" tactic against the Alien Insect Race in combat.
The results of the experiment were very successful. After using this tactic, eight of the armies had destroyed the insect swarms with about 30% fewer losses than in previous battles.
The one failure was because the "Pillar Falling" tactic hadn't been successfully implemented.
Before the experiment, the Central Operations Room had distributed a simplified version of the "Tactic Manual" to these experimental troops. As long as they followed the instructions in the manual, they could successfully execute this tactic in a variety of battle situations.
The unit that failed encountered a battle situation not covered in the Tactic Manual.
The commanders of six of the experimental armies were of average ability and did not possess tactical genius like Zhao Zhenhuai.
Bai Xianya nodded. This meant that as long as the Tactic Manual was comprehensive enough to cover all possible scenarios, any commander could implement "Pillar Falling" and destroy the insect swarms with minimal losses. The key was whether the Tactic Manual was comprehensive enough.
The Central Operations Room had already carried out a full deduction of the battle involving [Idol Actor] and Zhao Zhenhuai. However, that was just a deduction of one battlefield situation. Now, they had to deduce various battlefield scenarios.
This was a massive and complex task.
Of course, the most suitable person to lead this task would be [Idol Actor], who had first successfully implemented the tactic. But that guy hadn't logged into the game since! This made Bai Xianya, who had sent countless friend requests, itch with annoyance. A military-uniformed beauty, and you're so cold when I try to add you as a friend! Serves you right for being single forever!
She gathered the report and went to find her uncle again, saying, "From the results, the large-scale promotion plan is feasible."
Bai Yunpeng nodded. With a casual operation, the office door behind Bai Xianya closed automatically. Bai Xianya remembered she had barged in directly again and felt somewhat abashed.
Bai Yunpeng did not hold it against his grandfather's prized grandniece—nor did he dare. He asked, "Have you contacted [Idol Actor]?"
"No," Bai Xianya said, feeling defeated. "He hasn't logged on since that time."
Bai Yunpeng's fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk, as if pondering something. He then asked, "What kind of person do you think this tactical prodigy could be?"
Bai Xianya understood his hint and said in surprise, "You suspect... a Professional?"
"Professionals are very secretive, and all have their own backgrounds and organizations. However, a small number of Professionals leave their organizations and go into hiding."
"Such a level of tactical skill cannot possibly come from isolated practice and self-study. This [Idol Actor] must have experienced numerous wars to reach such proficiency."
"If he were from our military, he would have come forward himself. If he were from another country's military, he would have no reason to help us."
"So that only leaves Professionals."
After some thought, Bai Xianya said, "If it's a Professional, the most outstanding tactical commander would be [Starwind Centurion]. Besides him, there are others like [Digital Shepherd], [Star Battle Instructor], and the old Profession, [Death Domain Warlord]."
"And with tactical command skills this high, he has probably reached the Fifth Energy Level or above!"
A Professional of this caliber is truly a national treasure, a vital asset to the country!
Bai Yunpeng nodded, gazing intently at his niece. "Now you understand how significant your responsibility is, right? No matter which category this [Idol Actor] falls into, we must recruit him."
"Yes!" At this point, Bai Xianya also became serious, snapping to attention. "I guarantee I will complete the mission!"
Just as her voice fell, a BEEP BEEP BEEP sound suddenly came from her personal account. Bai Xianya thought she had misheard, but upon checking, her face lit up with surprise. "Marshal, [Idol Actor] has logged into the game!"